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VG247.comSat, 01 Aug 2015 21:19:19 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2WildStar will go free-to-play this fall, Carbine committed to “ensuring it will remain AAA”http://www.vg247.com/2015/05/28/wildstar-will-go-free-to-play-this-fall-carbine-committed-to-ensuring-it-will-remain-aaa/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/05/28/wildstar-will-go-free-to-play-this-fall-carbine-committed-to-ensuring-it-will-remain-aaa/#commentsThu, 28 May 2015 13:04:00 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=529538NCSoft has announced its WildStar MMO will become free-to-play this fall.

As the transition takes place, Carbine Studios said it will remain committed to “ensuring that WildStar will remain AAA,” by offering polished regular updates and a high-quality experience.

According to a PC Gamer interview with the studio’s Mike Donatelli, once the MMO goes F2P, new currencies will be added to Cred, Gold and convenience tokens. Cosmetic and convenience items will be made available through Omnibits or an upcoming real-money currency.

The items one would pay real money for can be acquired in-game, so players will not be forced to spend anything of they don’t wish.

A loyalty program will be offered to those who continue to pay for a subscription. The program provides the player with “loyalty currency” which can be used in a loyalty store, per PC Gamer. Other free in-game rewards will also be on offer for subs when WildStar changes to F2P.

Over the next several months, the studio will share more details on the transition and more details on the significant improvements coming to the game.

At present, publisher NCSoft is still offering Wildstar for sale online, but if I were you I’d hold off a week or two and see what happens.

Wildstar already supports options for those not willing to pony up its monthly subscription fee – you can buy play-time with in-game currency. A similar system is in place in EVE Online, and was recently introduced to World of Warcraft.

Many MMOs enjoy greater financial success after transitioning to free-to-play, by the way.

Update: EB Games has told MCV Pacific that the recall is part of “normal stock movement”. Which, I remind you, is precisely what it said about The Elder Scrolls Online.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/04/15/wildstar-pulled-from-retail-shelves-ahead-of-f2p-transition-rumour/feed/0Guild Wars 2 publisher lays off customer service team, outsources to third partyhttp://www.vg247.com/2015/04/10/guild-wars-2-publisher-lays-off-customer-service-team-outsources-to-third-party/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/04/10/guild-wars-2-publisher-lays-off-customer-service-team-outsources-to-third-party/#commentsFri, 10 Apr 2015 00:33:23 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=521569Guild Wars 2, and Wildstar publisher NCSoft has let its customer service team go, outsourcing support to a third party.

“As the final phase of a restructuring process announced last October, NCsoft West is transitioning its first level customer support services to an external provider. This change will better enable the company to provide scalable customer support across new business segments and its current portfolio of popular games,” NCSoft said said in a statement provided to Polygon.

The site was told by an unnamed employee that 16 staff had been laid off from the Austin office.

“Unfortunately, as result of this migration, a small number of customer support positions have been impacted. Today’s change should have no impact to former, current or future customers and is intended to enable NCsoft West to more easily scale its future support organization for new products on new platforms,” the publisher continued.

“The decision to reduce staff is never an easy one, and NCsoft West will be working closely with those impacted and providing ongoing support. We sincerely wish everyone impacted well in their future endeavors.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/04/10/guild-wars-2-publisher-lays-off-customer-service-team-outsources-to-third-party/feed/0New Contracts feature in Wildstar promises to make the game “less grindy”http://www.vg247.com/2015/03/18/wildstar-contracts-pc-mmo/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/03/18/wildstar-contracts-pc-mmo/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 20:36:00 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=518435A new WildStar feature called Contracts will be included in the Invasion: Nexus update which Carbine Studios hopes will make the game “more fun and less grindy” for players.

According to Carbine, Contracts are “bite-sized, repeatable elder-game” content which can be completed rather quickly.

Contracts can be obtained on a board in capital cities and provide the player with new ways to earn gear. Five new contracts will be made available per day and players can choose three at a time, with PvP and PvE contracts counting separately, so payers can have three PvP contracts and three PvE Contracts at once.

Some require the player to dispatch enemies such as Moodies or Skeech, obtain a certain number of multi-kills, or by running veteran adventures. Each will have varying rewards and difficulty spanning three levels.

Rewards include in-game gold, a loot bag containing Glory, Prestige or gear, reward points, a milestone point or even a mystery box which could contain a mount or vanity pet. The bigger the milestone, the greater the reward.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/03/18/wildstar-contracts-pc-mmo/feed/0WildStar players can now participate in the The Protogames Initiativehttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/03/wildstar-the-protogames-initiative-pc/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/03/wildstar-the-protogames-initiative-pc/#commentsTue, 03 Feb 2015 21:43:52 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=510937The next WildStar update, The Protogames Initiative, has been released.

This is the fourth content update for the MMO and it contains a range of content ranging from a new Shiphand mission and two new dungeons.

It also includes veteran versions of all existing Shiphands, enhanced customization options, and quality-of-life improvements.

Here’s a list of highlights induced in the update:

New Shiphand Experiences: “They Came From Fragment Zero” is the newest Shiphand, designed for level six players (Veteran mode included).

Protogames Academy: This level-10 dungeon will teach less-experienced dungeon-goers the tricks of the trade by introducing them to WildStar’s more complex group content mechanics, while also providing a fun experience and access to more support-role gear much earlier in the leveling process.

The Ultimate Protogames: A new level-50 veteran dungeon, The Ultimate Protogames gives player-contestants the opportunity to battle through randomly-ordered rooms making every run of the dungeon unique.

New Customization Options: A new customization system called the “Character Chop Shop” enables players to make all kinds of changes to their characters’ hair, face, and body, and a new housing option give players the tools to change the terrain style of their property.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/03/wildstar-the-protogames-initiative-pc/feed/0Wildstar on sale for 50% offhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/11/28/wildstar-on-sale-for-50-off/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/11/28/wildstar-on-sale-for-50-off/#commentsFri, 28 Nov 2014 13:11:11 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=503154MMO Wildstar has decided to to join in on the sales festivities by offering a 50% discount on both editions.

Wildstar is offering both versions, the Standard Edition and the Deluxe Edition at 50% off. The sale is available for a limited time.

Wildstar has recently received a a mega patch, covering all sorts of fixes.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/11/28/wildstar-on-sale-for-50-off/feed/0Wildstar: Mystery of the Genesis Prime due next weekhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/11/06/wildstar_mystery_of_the_genesis_prime_release_date/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/11/06/wildstar_mystery_of_the_genesis_prime_release_date/#commentsThu, 06 Nov 2014 23:11:47 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=499697Wildstar’s next major update has a release date at last.

Wildstar: Mystery of the Genesis Prime will launch on November 11, NCSoft and Carbine Studios announced today.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/11/06/wildstar_mystery_of_the_genesis_prime_release_date/feed/0Wildstar: Mystery of the Genesis Prime gets new trailer, still no release datehttp://www.vg247.com/2014/11/04/wildstar-mystery-of-the-genesis-prime-content-details-trailer/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/11/04/wildstar-mystery-of-the-genesis-prime-content-details-trailer/#commentsTue, 04 Nov 2014 21:54:44 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=499183Wildstar’s next major content update should be upon us quite soon, if this new trailer is any indication.

We expect the third Wildstar update this month, but Carbine and NCSoft are yet to give us a solid release date for Mystery of the Genesis Prime.

What they have given us is this very dramatic trailer:

According to the MMORPG’s website, Mystery of the Genesis Prime adds a zone called The Defile; a boss, The Dreadwatcher; The Dread Traverse public event (which comes with a “pivotal reveal”); and the chance to scale the Lightspire, blind the Black Focus, “rekill” a Phagelord “and loot stuff”.

Massively had a few more details. You’ll find solo content in the Sonic Plaza and the Strain Maw. The Black Focus hosts five-person tasks and the Siege of the Lightspire is for larger groups.

Carbine said it will be monitoring transfers for any player taking advantage of the system.

“We expect there will be some concerns about players using PvE servers to level up, without the dangers of a PvP server, and then transferring across once they reach max level, however we felt that ensuring the health and community of each server is more vital,” the post continued.

“We will be keeping a close eye on things for any shenanigans or foul play though.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/10/29/wildstar-megaservers-pve-pvp/feed/0Staff cuts implemented at WildStar studio and across NCSoft Westhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/10/23/wildstar-ncsoft-carbine-studios-lay-offs/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/10/23/wildstar-ncsoft-carbine-studios-lay-offs/#commentsThu, 23 Oct 2014 20:11:31 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=497330NCSoft has announced a round of staff cuts across its western operations, with WildStar developer Carbine Studios bearing the brunt of the lay-offs.

According to a statement handed to Game Informer after Polygon broke the news, while Guild Wars developer ArenNet was unaffected, up to 60 employees at Carbine were let go.

NCSoft plans to continue supporting WildStar along with its other MMOS Aion, Guild Wars and Lineage while also moving into mobile and tablet gaming segments.

“Today we announced a restructuring of key operations within NC West [with] staff reductions across our Western operations with the exclusion of ArenaNet,” read the statement. “While decisions like this are always hard, they are necessary as we begin the implementation of a new strategy designed to strengthen our footing as a leader in global entertainment.

“We will continue to focus on our core development capabilities and the intellectual properties that have made NCSOFT what it is today. However, we are looking to move into new business segments like mobile and tablet games as well as explore emerging technologies.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/10/23/wildstar-ncsoft-carbine-studios-lay-offs/feed/0WildStar holiday events cancelled to focus on content Drop 3http://www.vg247.com/2014/10/08/wildstar-drop-3-mmo-pc/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/10/08/wildstar-drop-3-mmo-pc/#commentsWed, 08 Oct 2014 16:51:33 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=495048Those hoping to participate in festival fun this holiday season in WildStar will have to wait a while, according to Carbine Studios. And it’s not because the team behind the MMO are grinches or anything.

“Holidays are great, but they’re not as important as making sure the live game is working well,” wrote the game’s content designer and a zone lead, Kristen “Caydiem” DeMeza.

“We took the time we needed to fix things players were already experiencing — all of the departments — and that meant that the schedule changed to account for it. But Halloween and Christmas weren’t interested in our bug fixes and didn’t change their schedules for us.

“When it came to Drop 3, Shade’s Eve was more or less done, but it still needed a lot of proper, rigorous testing. With limited-time events, it’s even more imperative that your content work and work well, because if there’s a show-stopping bug that happens, every hour you spend fixing it is an hour players miss of that content for the year.”

In the post, DeMeza went on to state that QA was working hard on Drop 3 along with “many bug fixes and content that would be around all year.” Therefore, Carbine, said it was more important for QA to focus on fixes than testing holiday events.

WildStar is Carbine Studios’ latest MMORPG, set on the Planet Nexus and featuring PvP and PvE combat across huge and distinctive environments.

The keys last for seven days and allow player characters to climb to level 20.

Please note: these keys are for Europe only. They will not work outside of Europe.

Instructions on how to redeem the key are below. Have fun!

Create an NCSOFT Account

If you already have an existing NC Account, you can safely skip these first two steps.

1. Visit the WILDSTAR website and click the “Create Account” button. https://secure.wildstar-online.com/cgi-bin/playncCreate.pl
2. Follow the link in the email in order to verify your email address.

Redeeming your personal key

1. Log into your account using the official WILDSTAR website.
https://secure.wildstar-online.com/login
2. Click “APPLY A CODE” on the red banner near the top of the page.
3. Enter your personal serial key from and click Apply.
4. If you receive a success message, you’re good to go. If not double-check the serial key is entered correctly.
5. Download the client by clicking “Download Game” in the Account Summary box.

WildStar is Carbine Studios’ latest MMORPG, set on the Planet Nexus and featuring PvP and PvE combat across huge and distinctive environments.

The keys last for seven days starting July 29th and allow player characters to climb to level 20.

Instructions on how to redeem the key are below. Have fun!

Create an NCSOFT Account

If you already have an existing NC Account, you can safely skip these first two steps.

1. Visit the WILDSTAR website and click the “Create Account” button.

https://secure.wildstar-online.com/cgi-bin/playncCreate.pl

2. Follow the link in the email in order to verify your email address.

Redeeming your personal Beta Key

1. Log into your account using the official WILDSTAR website.

https://secure.wildstar-online.com/login

2. Click “APPLY A CODE” on the red banner near the top of the page.

3. Enter your personal serial key from and click Apply.

4. If you receive a success message, you’re good to go. If not double-check the serial key is entered correctly.

5. Download the client by clicking “Download Game” in the Account Summary box.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/07/28/wildstar-1000-free-trial-keys-to-give-away/feed/3The number of customization options in WildStar is ridiculous – videohttp://www.vg247.com/2014/05/27/wildstar-prelaunch-trailer-released/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/27/wildstar-prelaunch-trailer-released/#commentsTue, 27 May 2014 20:44:26 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=474836WildStar launches next week, and to kick things off, Carbine has released a pre-launch video showing exploding dragons, and the ridiculous amount of personalization options available with player housing. Ridiculous as in awesome.

Personalization is the name of the game in WildStar, you can make everything your own in the space jaunt.

See for yourself in the video below.

Prepare for launch on June 3.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/27/wildstar-prelaunch-trailer-released/feed/0Hopefully you are hardcore enough to handle raids in WildStarhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/05/13/wildstar-raids-feature-20-to-40-players/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/13/wildstar-raids-feature-20-to-40-players/#commentsTue, 13 May 2014 14:02:06 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=471490WildStar raids are not for the faint of heart, according to the latest Dev Speak video.

In raids, or ‘Raidz’ as Carbine Studios calls it, 20-40 unsuspecting players are thrust into a hardcore battle full of spells, flashing lights and likely death.

Looks busy and stressful. Hopefully you are ‘hardcore’ enough to handle these “diamond-core” PvE dungeons fill of bosses ready to hand your ass to you.

Hit up the video below.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/13/wildstar-raids-feature-20-to-40-players/feed/2WildStar dev diary talks endgame, promises “best damn MMO you’re going to play this year”http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/09/wildstar-dev-diary-talks-endgame-promises-best-damn-mmo-youre-going-to-play-this-year/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/09/wildstar-dev-diary-talks-endgame-promises-best-damn-mmo-youre-going-to-play-this-year/#commentsFri, 09 May 2014 08:39:47 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=470719WildStar developer Carbine Studios has published the first in a series of dev diary videos that touches on the post-level cap endgame. In it, product director Mike Donatelli said, “We have the best damn MMO that you’re going to play this year. Period. End.”

Interestingly, the team, made mention of post-level cap episodic instances that will roll out over WildStar’s June 3 launch. They will take place after the player learns of the ‘true threat’ on planet Nexus, and places them as the universe’s champion charged with putting those problems right.

We’ve no idea what that means exactly, but we’ll have WildStar launch impressions dropping in June. Stay tuned for those.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/09/wildstar-dev-diary-talks-endgame-promises-best-damn-mmo-youre-going-to-play-this-year/feed/1Wildstar to be “one of the pillar” release in a soft PC market, says NCSofthttp://www.vg247.com/2014/05/08/wildstar-to-be-one-of-the-pillar-release-in-a-soft-pc-market-says-ncsoft/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/08/wildstar-to-be-one-of-the-pillar-release-in-a-soft-pc-market-says-ncsoft/#commentsThu, 08 May 2014 21:27:30 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=470579Wildstar publisher NCSoft believes the PC retail market has become a hit-driven business, but it’s also confident its new MMO will be one of those hits.

“The PC market has become very polarised, with only a handful of products seeing strong sales,” he said.

“We’re expecting WildStar to be one of the pillar PC releases of 2014.”

Cowley likened Wildstar to another of NCSoft’s recent major western releases.

“It’s a key release for the summer period. Guild Wars 2 showed there is great passion for high quality MMOs from UK consumers, both online and in stores and we expect WildStar to continue that trend,” he said.

Recent financials have demonstrated just how important Guild Wars 2 was to the western arm of the international publisher, which other wise draws most of its revenue from Korean releases.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/08/wildstar-to-be-one-of-the-pillar-release-in-a-soft-pc-market-says-ncsoft/feed/2WildStar open beta goes live today, new story trailer releasedhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/05/08/wildstar-open-beta-goes-live-today/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/08/wildstar-open-beta-goes-live-today/#commentsThu, 08 May 2014 13:03:49 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=470417Just a friendly reminder, letting you know WildStar’s open beta launches today. In case you forgot or something. Carbine Studios will throw the doors open to the MMO at 3pm UK and for the next 10 days you can level your toon all the way to 30 if you wish. WildStar launches June 3, and is available for pre-order. The open beta video is below.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/08/wildstar-open-beta-goes-live-today/feed/0WildStar open beta starts this week, runs through May 18http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/06/wildstar-open-beta-starts-this-week/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/06/wildstar-open-beta-starts-this-week/#commentsTue, 06 May 2014 13:04:10 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=469721WildStar’s open beta will start on Thursday, May 8 and last until May 18. The open beta period runs for 10 days, and has an increased level cap, level 30, with two new abilities and a new ability slot. Tier Points are also available at level 30.WildStar launches June 3, and is now available for pre-order.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/06/wildstar-open-beta-starts-this-week/feed/9WildStar beta key giveaway: 5,000 keys up for grabs right herehttp://www.vg247.com/2014/05/02/wildstar-beta-key-giveaway-5000-keys-up-for-grabs-right-here/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/02/wildstar-beta-key-giveaway-5000-keys-up-for-grabs-right-here/#commentsFri, 02 May 2014 07:25:09 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=469020WildStar developer Carbine is having another beta weekend starting this afternoon, and we’ve got 5,000 keys to give away. Get yours here.

All you need to do is enter your details, read the terms below and that’s it, you’re in. Now if only everything in life could be this simple eh?

Have fun friends!

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/02/wildstar-beta-key-giveaway-5000-keys-up-for-grabs-right-here/feed/1WildStar super beta-key giveaway! 10,000 codes must go!http://www.vg247.com/2014/04/29/wildstar-super-beta-key-giveaway-10000-codes-must-go/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/04/29/wildstar-super-beta-key-giveaway-10000-codes-must-go/#commentsTue, 29 Apr 2014 12:11:22 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=467882We’ve got thousands of codes for the next WildStar beta. Get involved. All you have to do is like.

Want to get in on the next WildStar beta? Access was never easier. To get a code for the MMO’s next test, just go to our Facebook giveaway and follow the instructions. These keys allow entry to play this weekend, which will raise the level cap from 20 to 25. All the details are in the image below.

We’ve got 10,000 keys to distribute. Once they’re gone they’re gone, so get to it. Have fun!

Speaking in an exclusive interview with VG247, Gaffney said that the developer has been training itself to drop content on a monthly basis while its been in beta. Once the game is live Carbine will strive to deliver new content every month or sooner, if possible.

“We’ve been training ourselves to do monthly updates because we think the era of waiting 3-6 six months and then doing a big update is kind of over. We’ve been training ourselves to do large updates every month,” he revealed.

“We’ve actually mapped out and we have pre-production done on the first 16 monthly updates. That sounds mildly insane but we just walked through them as a group the other day. Some are quests that need art but there’s a significant amount of work that’s been put into a year-plus into the future, so that we can make sure we can hit that.

“If you hear of someone coming out as an MMO who doesn’t have a really damn good idea of what their next years’ worth of content is, it means they’re not going to have much of it.”

The full interview, where Gaffney also discusses the changes that have come about during beta, how Warcraft and Everquest have influenced WildStar, and mining player deaths, can be read here.

Carbine and NCsoft will publish WildStar in June – a new sci-fi MMO built by a team that has honed its skills on some of the standout hits of the genre. But regardless of past success, MMOs are a notoriously difficult market where players flirt with new releases only to return to the big time-consuming loves they’ve been loyal to for years.

The staff at Carbine have great heritage and experience in the MMO market – Warhammer, Everquest, Warcraft, City of Heroes, Free Realms – all of which have had their time in the sun. What are the key things you’ve learnt from those games that you’re applying to WildStar?

“We’ve been training ourselves to do monthly updates because we think the era of waiting 3-6 six months and then doing a big update is kind of over.”

Jeremy Gaffney: There’s stuff that’s been done well before but we want to do it better. When stuff hasn’t been done well or it’s never been done we want to make sure we have a good mix of that. We don’t want to completely reinvent wheels we don’t need to, but also, we want to deliver something new, not something people have been playing for the past ten years.

All those games have all been successful, is there anything specific that you can take from those games and apply with a WildStar twist?

Jeremy Gaffney: Housing is an interesting one. Everquest 2 had a pretty good housing system but we wanted to make sure that it’s really social, it’s over-the-top, we build a world where you can do all sorts of crazy stuff. We have ferris wheels and mining nodes that modify the terrain – I don’t think anyone has done that with their housing system before.

There has to be technical differences as well as gameplay differences. World of Warcraft did raiding better than anyone had done it before but with our action combat system we can make it fun and a challenge not just for the guys doing the damage. Everybody’s got to react when this is going on. You can’t really sit there as a Healer targeting spells. You’ve got to be dodging around, lining up heals – it needs to be a skill game. These are the sorts of things where even when people have done them really well before we want to take it up a notch. And some things are brand new. Nobody ever did Warplots before – build a giant death fortress. If that’s in another game I have not played it.

Within reason, you’re trying to remove as many restrictions as possible in order to the let the player go as wild as they want to – base building, customisation…

Jeremy Gaffney: I think that’s a pretty true statement. We have a mantra to let players play how they want to play. We know the MMO market is made up of a couple of different types of players. Richard Bartle did research back in the days that said some people really love exploring and play games to hunt down the hidden things. Some people are socialisers. Some are all into achievement. So we took that and basically made the path system where you choose what type of thing you like to do and build the world around you.

“In the US and Europe around 65 percent of people play MMOs primarily as single-player games.”

About 25 percent of the content is scavenger hunts, unlocking the map, or more combat for soldiers. That also applies to the fact that we know there are different brands of people for different leveling – some want to play entirely solo. In the US and Europe around 65 percent of people play MMOs primarily as single-player games. Are there fun things to do for people who like to solo, those who like PvE, those who like to kill their friends, PvP, do they like small group play or larger groups? You have to make sure you satisfy as many folk as possible without diluting the whole experience.

If you’re trying to build something for everybody you have to focus on the great experiences, not the mediocre ones.

You’re taking on a lot – a lot of player choice. But how do you balance that and enforce rules that will constrain some of the fun or some of the options to players?

Jeremy Gaffney: We’ve done it really by just throwing lots of really smart people at it. And then the secret to life in this business is you listen. We spend a lot of time hearing what our fans have to say, both in the game, through the forums and via social media. And we also mine a crap-load of data out of the game to discover things like where are the quit points? If you map every character who has not logged in for the last three weeks and put them on a big map in the office you’ll see the hotspots – what is it about this dungeon or this area or battleground that’s driving people out? We do that to tune the game and find things that don’t work so we can either fix or pull out. We survey everybody to find out the best quests and the worst quests. When you log out we ask if you had fun, was the game’s performance good, do you intend to buy the game? Fun is the number one most important thing to track.

We ask people to rate areas out of five and over 50 percent give a five and the next highest ranking is a four. So our mission in life isn’t to stress over the 1 scores but work out how to get the fours up to fives.

This industry is giving so much access as to what the hell is going on in your world but often as a developer you’re so busy trying to get the damn thing done that you don’t have the luxury to do it scientifically.

“This industry is giving so much access as to what the hell is going on in your world but often as a developer you’re so busy trying to get the damn thing done that you don’t have the luxury to do it scientifically.”

Since you’ve had the beta running has the game changed significantly or has the feedback been a refining process?

Jeremy Gaffney: The thing is we do huge changes every month. We’ve been training ourselves to do monthly updates because we think the era of waiting 3-6 six months and then doing a big update is kind of over. We’ve been training ourselves to do large updates every month. We’re in tuning mode right now because we want to be fixing things. But still within that it’s 71 pages of patch notes for last months’ worth of work. But this is important. You not only want to fix the things that are important but we’ve set ourselves up to be churning out large amounts of content so there’s new stuff for people to do, and we’re also refining what’s in there.

We’ve been doing that for the last six months although we haven’t really publicised it too much as a thang because as we get closer people before launch want to have the game proven. As intelligent games designers you have to be thinking to the future. We are not a business where you go out and sell 100,000 boxes and you’re done. We’re a game where you hopefully attract millions of people but then the real question is how long are they going to stay? We’ve seen MMO after MMO that has moved 1, 2, 3 million boxes but how many of them keep those players for any length of time? That’s really the challenge of our industry.

You say you’ve been doing monthly updates while WildStar is in beta – is that something you intend to continue once the game is live?

Jeremy Gaffney: Yes. Really the goal is as frequently as possible. If we can get that down to two weeks we’ll do it. We’ve actually mapped out and we have pre-production done on the first 16 monthly updates. That sounds mildly insane but we just walked through them as a group the other day. Some are quests that need art but there’s a significant amount of work that’s been put into a year-plus into the future, so that we can make sure we can hit that. This past month had 71 pages of patch notes and some of that has been worked on for months in advance. If you’re making a new dungeon or a new raid you better have a concept artist working on that. It’s a process that can take a year. If you hear of someone coming out as an MMO who doesn’t have a really damn good idea of what their next years’ worth of content is, it means they’re not going to have much of it.

If you’re so far advanced with forward planning how do you respond to players reactively? People play differently and their taste changes very quickly. With an MMO it takes a long time to build the game, so how flexible can that next 16-month schedule be after the game is live, when it can become a different game once it’s in the real world?

“We’re not after no player deaths, we like player deaths. We just want them where we intend the death to be.”

Jeremy Gaffney: Half the team is devoted to doing long-term content – literally half – working on mapping out content and advancing the world story for us. And half the team is in reactive mode where they’re in reserve to tackle what needs to be tackled on a monthly basis, such as dealing with an economy issue that needs to be fixed. Or looking up at our death map on the wall and seeing that 200 percent more people die in this zone compared to the others so it needs retuning, or there’s an area of the map where people are quitting frequently so we need to focus on that specifically – is it too boring or grindy? So we have a split team either reacting in real-time or mapping out for the long haul.

Tell me about the death map – is that for tracking every player death, reason, location?

Jeremy Gaffney: We generate heat maps every week to figure out where players are dying most. We’re not after no player deaths, we like player deaths. We just want them where we intend the death to be. We map out where players die, where they quit, where bug reports come in. One of the most useful things from player bug reports is that they’re adding into the player data for the big maps – is it something that’s visual that players are reporting or is it very annoying and interrupting play? Our QA teams then dig in and solve the problems.

WildStar is currently in beta. Keep an eye on VG247 for invites to the beta. The game is due for release in June.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/04/29/wildstar-warplots-death-maps-and-71-pages-of-patch-notes-interview/feed/3WildStar video details how to build Warplot fortress machineshttp://www.vg247.com/2014/04/23/wildstar-video-details-how-to-build-warplot-fortress-machines/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/04/23/wildstar-video-details-how-to-build-warplot-fortress-machines/#commentsWed, 23 Apr 2014 13:23:21 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=466579WildStar developers Carbine Studios has released another video detailing its PvP mode, Warplots. The video provides a closer look at the most “hardcore game mode yet,” and how players can create fortress machines plugs, traps, summoned monsters, and more. The previous Warplot video can be found through here.WildStar launches June 3 and you can check out Dave’s impressions of it here. New screenshots are also below.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/04/23/wildstar-video-details-how-to-build-warplot-fortress-machines/feed/0WildStar: could it be the next big MMO? – previewhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/04/23/wildstar-could-it-be-the-next-big-mmo/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/04/23/wildstar-could-it-be-the-next-big-mmo/#commentsWed, 23 Apr 2014 07:03:39 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=465904WildStar developer Carbine lays out an attractive stall with its sci-fi Wild West mash-up, but can it take on the kings of the MMO genre? Dave Cook gets stuck into the beta to find out.

”What I realised early on is that WildStar takes several facets of MMO play and makes them more interesting. While you’re still clicking on enemies and hitting hotbar commands to dish out pain during combat, the move-set is chunky and satisfying.”

I’ve just strolled into a Dominion encampment swarming with robotic footsoldiers and explosive auto-turrets to help liberate the snowy Northern Wilds from the empire’s oppression.

Basic grunts fall screaming one by one as I cut through them with ease using my aqua-tinted blade, while mortar bombardments explode all around my bearded warrior. I fight my way up a hill towards the last of the hostile army, only to be met by a towering Megabot that stomps through the tree line unexpectedly.

We size each other up for a moment. It’s about 30 feet tall with balled up fists the size of Land Rovers, and I’m a rough six-foot something or other. No matter. I ready my blade and charge up the grassy peak before striking the first blow, triggering a preposterous battle of between flesh and steel. My solider is only level five, but I’m already taking on foes multiple times my own size, and it feels good.

Making things bigger, funnier, louder and more kick-ass is what WildStar is all about, and it’s a strategy that sets it apart from the other big MMO players out there today. I used to think long and hard about what it would take for a new online RPG to match or even surpass the success enjoyed by World of Warcraft, but then I realised that it’s probably an anomaly the likes of which we’ll never see again, so what teams like Carbine need to do is offer an alternative that fills gaps left by the competition.

Bring it on tin-grin!

”WildStar is a funny, bright and cheerful game that seems to draw influence from several sources. The ‘Level Up’ sting is pure Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, along with a booming celebratory line from the announcer who talks utter nonsense.”

I wasn’t kidding either; you really do start fighting colossal enemies within WildStar’s opening two hours, and that sets the tone for the rest of the game. It’s got the same comedic vibe and gut-punching combat you’d expect from the Borderlands series, and I’d be foolish to overlook the similarities between both franchises.

They each take place in a fringe world swarming with prospectors looking to strike it rich, and there’s an unmistakably Wild West veneer coating their colourful sci-fi settings. Even the NPCs talk with over the top southern drawls and whip out snappy lines now and then.

Though similar to Gearbox’s shooter in tone, WildStar has plenty of neat features to call its own, and in something of a Battlestar Galactica twist, it sees several exiled races – Human, Aurin, Granrok and Mordesh – fleeing across the galaxy to escape the villainous Dominion. It’s worth noting that you can also play as a Dominion race – Cassian, Draken, Chua and Mechari – if you want a different perspective. The Exiles eventually arrive at a newly-discovered planet called Nexus, and the opening tutorial takes place on a vast starship as it comes under fire from enemy forces. It’s not long before the vessel crashes, triggering the core quest line. It’s pretty epic.

What I realised early on is that WildStar takes several facets of MMO play and makes them more interesting. While you’re still clicking on enemies and hitting hotbar commands to dish out pain during combat, the move-set is chunky and satisfying. My Soldier class human is capable of sticking his boot in and knocking down whole packs of foes with one kick, before slicing them up with a sword air combo. The inputs are the same as other MMOs, but the result looks and feels more satisfying.

Admittedly, it’s a great game to look at.

”The humour and weighty combat drives me on, the world is inviting and there’s never been a mandatory need to squad up, which is something I’m not fond of as a gamer who likes his RPG experiences to be personal and solo.”

Even traversal benefits from the simple inclusion of a double jump, which comes in handy when exploring the colourful Nexus terrain, while an early quest sees your avatar imbued with an anomalous material that enables them to jump about four times higher than normal. There’s some great displays of imagination here that break the monotony of simple tasks, such as fetching an item or killing so many of one enemy type. Those filler missions still exist here, but feel less redundant due to the range of mechanics and XP challenges at play.

One challenge saw me roaming the plains of Tremor Ridge, deactivating a series of landmines in the quickest time possible without taking damage, which was hardly ground-breaking but still a departure from bog-standard quests. There are varied challenges in each zone, which are bolstered further by class-specific ‘Path’ quests. During character creation you can set your avatar’s vocation, and in my case I went for the Solider Path due to its focus on combat. I like hitting things, basically.

So whenever I encountered a Soldier Path quest, I was typically asked to defend an area against multiple waves of increasingly aggressive foes, much like a Horde Mode mission. These gauntlets also feature modifiers, for example, in one instance I had to fight waves while defending friendly NPCs from being killed, and in another I had to outlast the clock, rather than simply defeat all of my attackers. Again, it’s these little differences that keep familiar MMO staples from feeling stale, and they’re worth doing to boost your Path level, which unlocks new rewards and challenges. It’s also separate from your character’s level, which adds another layer of progression into the mix.

Speaking of levels, I found that simply killing enemies didn’t yield that much experience compared to completing quests. I know that is usually the case in MMOs, but here the gap felt wider, and I suspect that’s a conscious decision to remove the boredom of grinding. Also, after hitting a certain level, weaker enemies will start ignoring you unless engaged, and that’s definitely a welcome decision that stops you being attacked by fodder when trying to get from point A to B.

Out the way, ugly.

Walking through Nexus is enjoyable in itself, as it really is a bright and well-realised world. Each of the player-races has flocked there to lay claim to Loftite, but each has its own reasons for doing so. The Mordesh is perhaps the most tragic species as it suffers from a degenerative disease called Contagion, which was brought on by disastrous experiments in alchemy. It is believed that Loftite holds the cure. What’s interesting here is that each of the exiled races have arrived at Nexus to flee the Dominion, but are now essentially fighting each other to claim its spoils. I’m curious to see how this develops as the plot thickens.

I’m perhaps looking at the Mordesh plight too deeply here, as WildStar is a funny, bright and cheerful game that seems to draw influence from several sources. The ‘Level Up’ sting (below) is pure Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, along with a booming celebratory line from the announcer, who talks utter nonsense about how much more ass you can kick and the likes. There’s also the deadpan rasp of your commander Deadeye Brightland, who has a ridiculously ’80s action flick name, and ludicrously deadpan dialogue that I just can’t take seriously. The tone is spot on, and helps keep things fun.

Fuck yeah!

There’s also Nexus itself, which began for me as a snowy wasteland kept hostile by storm generators. Once deactivated, the gale gave way to frosty plains and twinkling caves that sat before grasslands. Looking out over a cliff edge deeper into the continent of Alizar reveals grand vistas populated with hovering mountains that pierce the blue skies. It’s a colourful experience that falls in line with World of Warcraft’s palette, and the characters have an accentuated ‘Disney’ design about them, but it all helps WildStar stand out.

Regular readers will know I’m still relatively new to the MMO genre, so it’s possible that a seasoned player might think differently about Carbine’s debut, but right now it has me interested. The humour and weighty combat drives me on, the world is inviting and there’s never been a mandatory need to squad up, which is something I’m not fond of as a gamer who likes his RPG experiences to be personal and solo. Like Guild Wars 2, there are live missions that reward players for their participation should you wish to engage in some light co-op, so rest assured that you’re catered for there.

But can WildStar go on to become one of the big MMO titles of our time? The right ingredients are there certainly, so it’ll be interesting to see how it’s received by the public come June.

Disclosure: To assist in writing this article, NC Soft sent Dave a beta key for WildStar.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/04/15/wildstar-beta-weve-got-3000-keys-to-give-away/feed/8WildStar hosting a pre-order bonus weekend – servers are live nowhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/03/28/wildstar-hosting-a-pre-order-bonus-weekend-servers-are-live-now/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/28/wildstar-hosting-a-pre-order-bonus-weekend-servers-are-live-now/#commentsFri, 28 Mar 2014 20:09:44 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=460827WildStar beta servers are live and those who pre-ordered it and are playing around in it can now reach level 20. From now until Sunday evening, March 30, the servers will be live for more testing. Be sure to log in. Carbine Studios’ MMO launches June 3.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/28/wildstar-hosting-a-pre-order-bonus-weekend-servers-are-live-now/feed/0WildStar DevSpeak video ‘Arenas and Battlegrounds’ touches upon PvPhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/03/20/wildstar-devspeak-video-arenas-and-battlegrounds-touches-upon-pvp/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/20/wildstar-devspeak-video-arenas-and-battlegrounds-touches-upon-pvp/#commentsThu, 20 Mar 2014 13:35:30 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=458395WildStar developer Carbine Studios has released a new DevSpeaks video in which the team discusses arenas and battlegrounds, the MMO’s PvP areas. Have a look below. WildStar launches June 3, and is now available for pre-order.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/20/wildstar-devspeak-video-arenas-and-battlegrounds-touches-upon-pvp/feed/1WildStar is now available for pre-orderhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/03/19/wildstar-is-now-available-for-pre-order/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/19/wildstar-is-now-available-for-pre-order/#commentsWed, 19 Mar 2014 16:04:24 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=458088WildStar from Carbine Studios is now available for pre-order.

Players who pre-order will be granted early access to several closed and open beta events and will receive a variety of exclusive in-game items and perks, including:

Early game access beginning Saturday, 31st May (three days prior to launch)

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/19/wildstar-is-now-available-for-pre-order/feed/1Wildstar beta giveaway: 1,250 keys up for grabshttp://www.vg247.com/2014/03/18/wildstar-beta-giveaway-1250-keys-up-for-grabs/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/18/wildstar-beta-giveaway-1250-keys-up-for-grabs/#commentsTue, 18 Mar 2014 15:23:56 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=457643We have 1,250 beta keys for NCSoft’s new RPG Wildstar – just enter your email address to be in with a chance of playing this weekend.

Carbine’s game is a sci-fi MMO set on the planet Nexus, where players embark on quests and fight each other in PvP combat. It’s due for release this June.

The beta for the upcoming role-playing game takes place this Friday March 21 from 15:00 CET (14:00 GMT) and continues to Monday March 23 07:59 CET (06:59 GMT).

All you need to do is drop your email in the box below and we’ll let you know by Thursday March 20 if you’re been lucky enough to play. Get involved.